Sensei Seasons
by starlight15
Summary: [Part 3 of 3 in Seasons Series] Four seasons. Four senseis. Asuma. Gai. Kurenai. Kakashi.
1. Spring

**Spring**

Asuma scratched a cheek idly as he puffed on his cigarette. The grey, toxic cloud steamed out of his mouth and disappeared into the spring air. Taking a deep breath, Asuma felt guilty for polluting the fresh environment, but his body lifted the cigarette to his mouth for another drag.

And what a drag it was. He couldn't even enjoy the simple pleasure of life without ruining it somehow.

Asuma had no connections with spring. His physical attributes certainly weren't described as 'beautiful', 'fresh', 'young', or 'smooth'. They were more subtle, rugged, and lined with age and experience, just like autumn. His attitude would probably be more like the lazy summer heat, just puffing by with no care. And his fighting skills; Jesus, when he was mad, he _fought. _And he fought like a winter storm, howling up its rage.

Spring? Nothing.

But somehow he felt more at home with it than any other season.

_It's that new beginning, the feeling you get after a spring shower. It's like the world's a whole new place, ready for you to start painting over – except without all of the original flaws. _

And flaws there were. Asuma's relationship with the Sandaime, his father, was rocky, and that was the kindest term he could use. They didn't exactly get along; in fact, Asuma sometimes even forgot that the Sandaime was his father. They had put too much distance between them.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino. The pride of his life. Yet he suffered so much when they went through the chuunin exams, his heart beating painfully against his ribcage every time the other person managed to land a blow on them. And after, when retrieving Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chouji had gone. Asuma broke into a cold sweat just thinking about it.

_They might've never had come back, never had returned. _

And all of the other small things in life, the one that make living so important, always irked him in some way or another. A cigarette would be soggy, Gai would molest him, Sakura would taunt Ino with Sasuke, Kurenai would look at him like he was an idiot, and the coffee had gone cold…

Ah, but sweet, sweet, blissful spring.

Here, Asuma could relive again, with more experience than the last scarred, torn year, and start fresh with a clean, flawless canvas.

Flopping onto the ground, he stared up at the clouds, much like Shikamaru did, and watched the puffy, white fluff-balls drift from one end of the sky to the other.

Savouring the last few moments of that fresh, clean feeling of spring, Asuma watched the light blue spring sky darken into a hazy, truer blue sky of summer.


	2. Summer

**Summer**

"YOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!"

It was summer! It was summer! What a grand, youthful time of the year! What a joyful time for eternal YOUTH!

When one thought 'Gai', and 'season', they would instantly connect the two with 'summer'. And who wouldn't? The wacky, original, dedicated, hardworking jounin wasn't spring. His deposition wasn't calm enough. Autumn was too much like a dying sun to his taste and winter? Pshaw, winter was for hibernating bears!

His bright and upbeat attitude was, no doubt, an identical match to summer's sunny days and non-stop activity of fun. Both human and season were relentless and determined, bright and full of fun.

Gai, for all of his weirdness, had a heart of gold. He liked everyone, was liked by everyone, and helped anyone he could in any way. It didn't matter how small the child was or how elderly the lady was, he would be there to help them.

He was a role model of determination and hard work, of weirdness and loyalty. This steadfast stream of fantastic characteristics matched summer's; the infallible and bright season and human were exact matches.

Summer: fun, non-stop, action packed, sunny, relentless, determined, cheerful, (extraordinarily) bright.

Gai: fun, non-stop, action packed, sunny, relentless, determined, cheerful, (extraordinarily) bright.

Perfect match, through and through.

It was almost eerie.

But Gai had his quiet moments too. It mostly came when Lee got seriously hurt, but his quiet moments were something that was even more frightening than his hyperactive, queer moment.

Gai _plus_ quiet _equals_ something that was never meant to be.

But his sobering silence was as stifling as a hot summer day, hazily floating about. It felt like it would never end, never lift up, but it always would sooner or later and the fierce, hot sun would come up once again.

And even when summer had drawn its curtains and autumn lifted hers up, Gai would still be living in the memory of summer, waiting for next year.


	3. Autumn

**Autumn**

She glanced up, leaping silently into a large, ancient tree, its branches quivering under the extra weight. Leaves floated gently down, its' colourful, spotted leaves browned with rain and sun. Her curled black hair blended with the shadows and her white and red attire camouflaged flawlessly against the deep crimson leaves.

Her deep red eyes were calm and calculating. Her hand, calloused yet still petite and delicate looking, was frozen at the spot above her kunai pouch. Closing her eyes, she heightened her other senses and smelled, heard all.

Hearing shifting cloth, she snapped her eyes open, her hand drawing out a kunai in less than a millisecond, and threw it towards her target, already heading towards another place to hide as soon as she threw it. Repeating the move several times, she was satisfied to see her victim on the ground, sprawled and bleeding.

Kurenai landed silently before the dead body, her gaze leading her to a tree spattered with blood. Somewhat saddened and guilty that she had tainted an innocent being, Kurenai extracted a scroll from the ninja and left, as if she had never been there.

The autumn leaves swirled around her as she walked back to Konoha. The day was about to end, the sun casting a golden glow reaching into the forest, highlighting the already colourful leaves with an almost ethereal lining. A wind whispered by, causing the leaves to stir once more and dance in the air.

Smiling slightly, genuinely, Kurenai reached out and watched as a crimson leave floated gently onto her hand. The colour matched her sleeve and eyes.

The forest was quiet, save for the sounds of wind, birds, and other small woodland creatures. The quiet always suited Kurenai, was always her element and comfort. She, herself, was a quiet person, one who always observed and never talked. Her striking appearance warned others that she was fully capable of taking care of herself, much like fall's strong colours.

In rare, golden moments like these was like when Kurenai would smile, interact with others, and laugh softly, genuinely. She would indulge in loud activities once in a while, letting out all of her loneliness and solitude.

Just thinking about how quiet and lonely she was, Kurenai glanced to another tree, this time unmarked. It stood proudly, the thick, twisting trunk shooting up before branching outwards multiple times. The fingertips of the branches pointed up, as if still trying to reach upwards. Despite the obvious strength and sturdiness the tree radiated, Kurenai noticed that it grew apart from others, was different: sturdier, quieter with the brown, green and yellow leaves, longer, more firmly implanted in the earth.

Another gust of wind blew through, this time colder and more cutting. Leaves swirled after it, the crinkled, dead edges ripped off. Kurenai's eyes darkened. A storm would be coming soon – she should probably be getting back to Konoha soon.

Leaping through the trees, she reluctantly made her way closer to home. Before she had left on the mission, she had overheard Asuma and Kakashi talking about women, overhearing their comments on the kunoichi way of attacking and partaking in missions. Their blunt comments punched Kurenai straight in the gut. She had walked away stiffly, knowing that the two shinobi would've heard her walk away.

She had kept her feelings hidden, choosing to hide behind an impassive mask and calm feelings. She kept her eyes carefully blank.

Remembering abruptly about her adventures in the forest when she was young, she remembered how curious she felt when she explored some of the darker parts during autumn, where the trees looked so cheerful with its bright colours despite the fact that they were actually dying.

Shaking her head and scattering her thoughts and feelings, she saw Konoha loom ahead. The storm breeze slapped her back and her already irritated feelings rose another notch and her eyes flashed.

When Kurenai was mad, she was _dangerous._

No one would've expected it; she was new, and a genjutsu specialist with an always carefully controlled face. She was very, very, very rarely angry. But when she was, she just ripped through everything with a controlled, yet wild grace. The autumn storm breeze slapped her back again, reminding her that fall storms were just as bad as her.

They tore through the bright leaves, leaving a soggy and sad mess behind, the fury of the wind and rains shaking the solid trees and scattering the clumps of dead leaves everywhere. The results usually made the viewer turn away.

Perhaps it was these frightening similarities that tied Kurenai so close to autumn, allowing her to experience the quiet beauty that no one else could.

And just as the small shadows tucked themselves behind the cover of the bright and gleeful leaves, Kurenai would shift with the shadows and blend behind the guard of trees.

Then winter would come, blanketing everything with a thick layer of snow and throwing a cover over autumn's quiet cheerfulness for next year.


	4. Winter

**Winter**

Winter described Kakashi so perfectly that it was freaky to think about it. The calmness and cool air of a fresh morning was like Kakashi's laidback manner and the fierce storms were like the raging emotions that he battled daily, both emotionally and physically.

But it was the little things that created him in season form. The blankness of the snow was like his mask, the one that made everyone think that he was ok, that he was fine. It was a cover for the darkness that laid underneath. The sharp, glittering icicles were like his attack style. Something to be admired, yet feared for its damage.

And the dead, snow laden trees – what's a better way to describe the weight that he bore and will bear the rest of his life?

_They were all dead._

Obito had died to save Rin and him, giving him his precious Sharingan eye as well. Two year later, Rin had died on a mission, her body never found and Arashi…

Kakashi sighed, his shoulders sagging, his back slumping over as his gaze slid over the memorial stone.

They were good – hearted people, the ones that loved to help and laugh. Those kinds were rare. There were too many cold - hearted bastards in the world. Why couldn't they die instead of the rare ones?

_Why would anyone lie to each other? But they do._

It just…happened. Like it was meant to be.

Sitting on the snow as he pulled out a rice ball, Kakashi dimly remember Obito smacking him with a snowball in their younger days and Rin had later tended to the nasty swelling the snow covered ice-ball had made on his cheek. Arashi was laughing uproariously, good – naturedly joining in on the fun.

Those were the good times. The times they shared in all the seasons, summer most of all.

But when it came to winter, Kakashi felt a tearing sensation in his heart. It was painful, remembering them and the happy times they shared and made together. But winter smothered over the pain, freezing it until spring melted it and made the wound raw again. Until then, it was bearable.

_A lone snowflake._

It was always like that.

_There were four. Then they dwindled down to one. _

Sighing again, Kakashi slowly got up and brushed the falling snow off his clothes. Walking leisurely away from the monument, he was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice a snow covered ice – ball head his way.

_**SMACK**_

Turning and ignoring the throb of pain, he noticed Sakura running towards him, her hands already glowing with a healing jutsu. Naruto was grinning sheepishly, and Sasuke was standing there, observing the soon to be chaos.

_Just like before. _

Grinning suddenly, Kakashi scooped a huge chunk of snow and aimed it towards Naruto's chest, knocking him against Sasuke. They toppled onto the snow like dominos and Sakura froze.

Kakashi chuckled.

_Three snowflakes drifted down to meet the one. _

_There were four again. _

And they would be even when spring came and melted the rest of snow, ebbing the numbing put on Kakashi's wound. But he needn't worry; he had a better balm to put on it.

_Team 7._


End file.
